1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to fish tapes of the type used by electricians to pull wire through conduit or other spaces, and more particularly to a device for winding the fish tape onto a reel assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fish tape is a stiff but bendable wire, flexible rod or flat tape typically used to install wire in conduit, through existing walls, or other tight spaces. Because typical electrical wire is very flexible, pushing it through long lengths of conduit is virtually impossible. Pulling wire along the desired path is much more effective. In order to pull the wire, a fish tape, being more rigid than electrical wire, is first pushed along the desired path. Once an end of the fish tape reaches the end of the desired path, the electrical wire is attached to the fish tape end, and the fish tape is retrieved which pulls the wire with it.
The fish tape is typically coiled inside of a reel assembly. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,780 has a generally annular tape receiving chamber bounded at its periphery by a pair of opposed lips, which separate to permit winding and unwinding of the fish tape in the chamber. A handle having a tape passage is mounted between the lips, which provides passage of the tape out of and into the receiving chamber. This reel arrangement makes it somewhat difficult to wind and unwind the tape. Given the relative rigid and springy characteristics of the fish tape, coiling the fish tape can require significant force and can be time consuming and frustrating, particularly if the fish tape binds inside of the reel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,021 discloses a fish tape device having a similar structure as in the above patent. To facilitate winding of the fish tape, this reel assembly is adapted to be driven by a power drill or driver. In particular, it has a large gear attached to the rotatable part of the reel assembly. Another small gear is rotatably mounted to a fixed part of the reel assembly by an axle extending to the exterior of the reel assembly that can be engaged by a socket of the power driver. Operating the driver thus turns the small gear which meshes with the larger gear for winding the fish tape within the reel assembly. While this greatly aids in the winding process it requires a power drill, which is large, expensive, needs external power and may not be readily available at the job site.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,038 discloses another solution to the winding difficulties associated with conventional fish tape reels discussed above. In this patent, the fish tape is contained in a cassette that loads easily into the main body of the reel. The cassette has its own handle for rotating the cassette relative to the reel body and thereby winding the tape. While this design provides significant benefits over conventional fish tape reels, the cassette feature adds expense and is generally designed for shorter length fish tape.